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GetEQUAL Calls On President To Take Public Leadership Role In Ending DADT By Court Or By Congress

It has been one of those busy days with the injunction ending discharges under the unconstitutional and discriminatory law colloquially known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The question now is whether or not President Barack Obama’s Justice Department and Defense Department will appeal the ruling putting an end to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. GetEQUAL is just back from Miami after another protest highlighting Obama’s lack of leadership when it comes to LGBT rights, including and especially what comedian Jon Stewart said was the ‘tapioca pudding’ of the rights- DADT. They have offered the following statement regarding this development:

GetEQUAL is committed to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We have been promised by just about everyone that it will end soon — and recent news from the courts and from the press are leading us to believe that the death knell is near. We hope that the President and elected officials will take a public leadership role in ushering in its demise — whether through the judicial process or the legislative process.

Ultimately, whether the policy is ended through judicial prudence, legislative leadership, or executive courage doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the lives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers are honored and protected by the very country they serve. The sooner that can happen — regardless of the vehicle — the sooner servicemembers, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, can restore their own honor and dignity.

The work continues — the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” still does not introduce a non-discrimination policy into the military, nor does it answer important questions about the ability of discharged servicemembers to re-enlist or the obligation of discharged servicemembers to pay back the extraordinary sums that some have been assessed for their educations. But it would be a good step forward, and one that will continue to tear down the walls of bigotry and hatred that have plagued our country for far too long.

Right now, the LGBT Community is cautious about the injunction and the possibility of an appeal. So often, as GetEQUAL points out, the LGBT Community has been promised over and over again by everyone that DADT would end soon, and it has not.

Hope is a hard thing to have when you are constantly pushed back down.